Pune: Activists of two political parties beat up the station head of the Bhor police station, 45 km from the city, on Tuesday morning.
According to sources, an altercation took place between workers of the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) over a candidate who had come to file his nomination for the zilla parishad and panchayat samiti elections, despite the deadline having expired on Monday itself.
The aspirant, who was allegedly given a Sena ticket, decided to contest from the NCP at the eleventh hour. As a result, a melee erupted between workers from both parties.
Police Inspector Shrikant Khot, who stepped in to restore decorum, was dragged and beaten by the unruly groups until he was rescued by fellow police personnel. He is reported to have suffered minor injuries. A search is on for the miscreants.
Rise in violence
Senior police officials have expressed concern over the surge in cases of assault of police personnel across Pune district.
More than 40 cases were recorded since the beginning of the year, including 10 in February itself, informed Joint Commissioner of Police Sunil Ramanand, expressing concern over the flare-ups that occurred when policemen tried to discipline traffic offenders. Last week, a sub-inspector was brutally assaulted by three inebriated men in the city’s Vishrantwadi area.
Poll code violation
Meanwhile, the Pune police have registered at least nine cases of violation of the model code of conduct, which is in force for the civic elections.
The Chandannagar police booked three BJP candidates for allegedly conducting illegal street corner meetings in the city’s Kharadi’s area. An NCP candidate was booked for taking out a rally in the same area with an entourage of nearly 50 vehicles.
